HORACE GREELEY was one of the earliest and
most fretting of the many thorns in the political
pathway of Abraham Lincoln. They served together in
Congress in the winter of 1848-49, when Greeley was
chosen to a short term to fill a vacancy. Speaking of Lincoln some years after his death, Greeley, referring to
his association with him in Congress, said that Lincoln
was "personally a favorite on our side," and adds: "He
seemed a quiet, good-natured man; did not aspire to
leadership, and seldom claimed the floor." For ten
years after these two memorable characters separated as
members of Congress Lincoln was little known or heard
of outside of his State of Illinois, and when his great
contest with Douglas for the Senate attracted the attention of the whole country in 1858, Greeley, with his
powerful Republican organ, vastly the most potent political journal in the country, took positive grounds in favor
of the return of Douglas to the Senate by the Republicans of Illinois, because of Douglas' open hostility to
the Lecompton policy of the Buchanan administration.
This attitude of Greeley's Tribune was one of the most
serious obstacles that confronted Lincoln in his great
campaign against Douglas, and it is possible that the
influence of the Tribune may have lost Lincoln the legislature. He carried the popular vote and elected the
Republican State ticket, but Douglas won the legislature

Print this page

While we understand printed pages are helpful to our users, this limitation is necessary
to help protect our publishers' copyrighted material and prevent its unlawful distribution.
We are sorry for any inconvenience.